June 2,2000 UNT Inhouse publication: 'UNT maintains nation's only 'cybercemetary'

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UNT maintains nation's only 'cybercemetery'

Print publications from old, defunct government agencies may go to a federal depository library when they die. But their equally defunct web sites and electronic documents come to UNT's "cybercemetery" web site.

This unique web site, which is sponsored by UNT and the federal government, serves as the nation's only online archive for electronic documents of defunct U.S. government agencies. It also provides a public service to U.S. citizens by allowing individuals to easily access information about such topics as international competition, U.S. courts, highway repair, federalism and the relationship between different levels of government.

Since 1948, UNT has been designated a federal depository library. The 1,300 libraries provide the general public with free government information. As an extension of this program, UNT is the first to host a digital depository library for information from defunct agencies.

With the growth of the electronic age, federal agencies have created electronic versions of their documents and made them available on web sites. As these agencies closed or completed their set tasks, they realized that they needed to store all of their information in a way that would make it accessible to U.S. citizens, allowing them to freely examine the files and understand the agencies' activities, says Cathy Hartman, electronics resources director for the UNT Depository Library.

In 1997, UNT and the U.S. Government Printing Office created a Memorandum of Understanding, which described the parameters of the cybercemetery. The memorandum stated that staff members of UNT's depository library must verify all files for authenticity, maintain a consistent web address, store the files on a server and provide free public access to the information.

Currently the UNT site hosts files from:

The Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations: The ACIR closed in April 1996 after more than 40 years of existence. The ACIR web site that was left behind contained several of its most recent reports. Those reports, plus more than 8,000 pages of text scanned at UNT from two ACIR report series, are now part of the web site. Local and state government officials, as well as other people who simply want to understand how different levels of government interact, use these publications.
The Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Court of Appeals: This commission was created to suggest alternatives to the present legal system. It was created by Public Law 105-119 in November 1997 and closed in March 1999.
The International Competition Policy Advisory Committee research collection: Formed in November 1997, the ICPAC addressed the global antitrust problems of the 21st century. It closed in April 2000.
The National Civil Aviation Review Commission: The collection from this commission comprises all documents it produced during its study of civil aviation issues. The agency completed its work and closed in December 1997.
The Office of Technology Applications – Highway TechNet (Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation): The agency studied advancements and technology for highways. The collection from this agency preserves public access to the Highway TechNet web site of the Office of Technology Applications, which officially closed in February 1999.

The cybercemetery is expanding. The university is seeking out other agencies that may be closing soon so that the library can begin the process of adding the digital material to the cemetery. Documents that were once only available in paper form will be scanned into an electronic format and placed on the site.

UNT will soon provide the same type of web access to the older issues of the Texas Register, which informs the public of changes in state regulations.

The cybercemetery's research collections can be accessed directly at www.library.unt.edu/GovInfo/research/research.html. Additional information can be found on the government documents home page: www.library.unt.edu/govinfo.